BUILD
The Rush is built like a tank. Wrapped in a diehard steel chassis, this pedal feels like it can take a beating and will stand not only being carried around for gigs, but being stomped on during the excitement of a performance.
They casing is extremely sturdy, with an easily depressible on/off switch and one large plastic potentiometer for volume. The volume pot is weighted and contoured, making it feel easy to grasp even on a darkened stage where visibility may not be extraordinary, and with enough weight behind it so that you can properly judge the distance between the incremental volume adjustments you make. It is also of a sufficient size to make it perfect for foot tweaking, which is a definite bonus if you need to adjust parameters whilst playing.
Measuring at 58 x 74 x 132 mm, perhaps it is a little bulkier than you might expect for a single function pedal, but at least it will stand out when you need to quickly locate it amongst a crowded pedalboard.
INS N’ OUTS
I’m a fan of keeping things simple. As well as having just a regular ¼” input and output, the Rush has only two controls – volume, and on/off. The top mounted jacks are handy, as when placed on a board with other pedals from this range, or other pedals in general that are also top mounted, you can save space and the units will fit snugly near one another with the cable pointed away from your feet.
SOUND
Presumably due to its clean analogue circuitry, The Rush does not give off any extra noise gremlins when switched on, unlike many other pedals of a similar price range. It also has true bypass, so it doesn’t colour your tone once switched off.
As you would hope for in a booster pedal, this thing can go LOUD. I found that moving the dial to around 9 o’clock was more than enough when playing unaccompanied, which would obviously be different with a full band behind you. In fact, the Rush can boost up to 20dB, so it is unlikely that you would find that this pedal cannot boost your volume high enough.
With so much room to move, you can use the volume control of the Rush for subtle boosts or to make a big jump in sound and break up your amp. You can choose to either really push your amp, by placing it after your other gain stage pedals, or before them to get some extra dirty sounds out of your overdrive and distortion pedals. When used on its own or at the end of your chain this provides a solid line boost. Consequently, despite its simple appearance, there is actually quite a lot of tonal variation that you can achieve with this pedal by simply applying it slightly differently.